The Bovine Bugle

Maple sugaring season up and "running"!

Today we started the 2006 sugaring season. The unseasonably warm weather has most of the sugarmakers in the state hustling to get their trees tapped. We decided that we might as well get going, so yesterday I went to Leader Evaporator, a maple sugaring supply outlet, and picked up some things. A new grading set, some tapping bits, and some new "health" spouts to try in the sugarbush were on the shopping list. And I also went just down the road from Leader to New England Container to pick up three cases of syrup cans to pack the syrup in.

This morning, after finishing the morning chores, we loaded the wagon with buckets, covers, spouts, hammers, a chainsaw, the battery-powered drill, and half-a-dozen kids, and headed to the woods. It was good going in the woods due to no snow cover at all. A far cry from the years when we had to use snowshoes to get around the trees while putting in the taps. We managed to put up about 300 buckets through the day before it was time to quit and do the afternoon milking. The sap was running a little from the freshly drilled holes. The kids did great helping out, and we had plenty of sap testers to taste the sweet stuff dripping off the spouts. Steve, Jill, Karen, and the kids, Ben, Justin, Brad, Emily, Maddy, and Noah, made a pretty good crew for the day.

Tomorrow we'll put out another 150 buckets to finish the tapping, then we'll take the sides off the wagon and set the gathering tub on the wagon deck in preparation for gathering the sap. Another couple of hours of work in the sugarhouse will have the sugar rig ready to go, and then we just have to wait for the sap to run!

Look for a "Moo-vie News" video of our team tapping the trees, here in The Bovine Bugle on Monday!

--Jonathan (left), Howmars Farm
Franklin, Vermont

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Posted by Blogger Chris at March 17, 2006 06:26 PM